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The dumb thing about saying "the dumb thing about this thread," is
that in the time it takes to complain about someone else's use of
recycled electrons, one could have ignored the thread entirely, or
done some other productive task, rather than telling the author of
the thread what task they should have been doing instead. <br>
<br>
If I'm not interested in a topic, I just don't read that topic, or
thread, or whatever.<br>
<br>
And one of the key reasons that rents are so high, is that a state
legislator from somewhere in 925 managed to pass, about 15 years
ago, a state bill that effectively wiped out rent control. Getting
him voted out of office would be good retaliation (better late than
never) if he's still around, but introducing a ballot measure to
re-establish rent control would be even better. That will also take
some of the speculative pressure off the finite supply of land.
Ultimately what's going to be needed is some kind of comprehensive
land reform, prohibiting speculation and the mechanisms that feed
it. Another topic for another day.<br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
=====<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 13-05-21-Tue 7:19 AM, Sonja Trauss
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAEMAOD7wixvoqmvVJhNe=xVRhzV9J9mr4kC_3K5vyAa1gW497A@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">The dumb thing about this thread is that in the time
it took to write any of the multiple paragraph emails, the author
could have looked to see whether there are any organizations in SF
(or berkeley) lobbying to make building new housing housing
easier.
<div>
<br>
</div>
<div>Whether or not you can have a relationship in a single bed is
irrelevant. Everyone agrees here, rent is too damn high. Part of
the cause of this is artificially limited supply. <span></span><br>
<br>
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, Georgio510 wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
Re. Romy-<br>
<br>
Yes, apts in HK and Tokyo are small, but not so small that
you can't have a double bed and a dinner table (Tokyo apts
even have space for small washing machines & small
wall-mounted dryers). And in any case, Japan has a decent
social safety net, something we shredded starting with
Reagan. <br>
<br>
If you're interested, I can show you some floorplans I've
created for micro living spaces. The stuff I designed is
geared toward the hacker/maker lifestyle with a strong
emphasis on sustainability. I'd happily live in a tiny
space of my own making, but not a developer's design that
can't be hacked or modded and is geared toward the
media-consumption lifestyle. <br>
<br>
Agreed, the large houses Americans have had for the past
century or so are ridiculous, not to mention _lawns_. But
there's a difference between a wasteful 4,000 square foot
suburban sprawl, and an apartment that's smaller than a
camping trailer. <br>
<br>
Something else about those tiny apartments: if your best
friend loses his/her job, s/he can't sleep on your couch
when there's no room for a couch. Sleeping on the floor in
the tiny aisle next to your bed gets old after about the
second time s/he gets stepped on when you get out of bed at
night to go to the bathroom. <br>
<br>
The Oligarchy likes to have it both ways: Big houses for
people who can afford to buy more stuff. Prison-sized
apartments for people who can't. Increase the class divide:
more at the top, less at the bottom. <br>
<br>
The profit motive for those prison-sized apartments is that
developers get more per square foot. $750 for 200 square
feet translates to $3.75 per square foot. Contrast to
$2,000 for 800 square feet, which translates to $2.50 per
square foot. <br>
<br>
See how that works? Fifty percent increase in price per
square foot. Clever racket, eh?<br>
<br>
Decrease in cars is a factor of available public transport
for the hours and places needed. Someone who works the late
shift across the Bay and comes home after BART stops
running, is probably going to end up with a car, even if
they have to play parking space roulette every day. BART
running 24/7 would do more to decrease car commuting in the
Bay Area, than squeezing people into shoe-boxes.<br>
<br>
Larger apartments mean you have more choices as to how you
live and who you live with. Smaller apartments mean fewer
choices. Again, we're not talking about
multi-thousand-square-foot sprawl, but about having enough
space for someone to choose whether to live alone or with a
friend, or offer their couch to an unemployed friend, or the
options available for single parents with kids who are
toddlers or older. <br>
<br>
200 square feet also means you can't telecommute or
telework, because there's not enough space for even a small
desk for a computer. Using a tablet while sitting on the
edge of the bed gets old real fast too. And forget about
modifying the space in any way: those places are like hotel
rooms, no user modifications or space hacks allowed. What's
important is _choice_. The choice to work and play at home
sometimes, and in communal space sometimes. <br>
<br>
How these neo boarding houses are worse than work lofts: for
one thing, you can't work there. And no space for a kitchen
table, so forget about inviting friends over for dinner. No
space for anything that involves having more than one other
person over for a brief visit.<br>
<br>
I don't know what'up in SOMA, but at this point nothing
would surprise me. Back in the day, a bunch of friends of
mine were able to rent a funky space with rabbit holes for
bedrooms, affordably, and with a common room big enough to
play live music. And they could build what they liked in
that space. <br>
<br>
Less materialism: more than made up for by increased media
consumption, which is materialism "de-materialized." All
that matters to the Oligarchy is that they harvest money
from the proles: they don't care whether they do it by
selling you physical stuff or digital stuff. Digital stuff
is easier & more profitable because it doesn't require
pesky factory workers to produce, and because it's a crime
to share digital media. <br>
<br>
Healthier eating: Those prison-sized apartments have enough
space for a dorm-sized fridge and a small microwave. Forget
about keeping a decent supply of fresh food on hand unless
you want to go shopping every two days. Eating at common
workspaces such as SR should also be a _choice_, not
something forced by absence of a kitchen. <br>
<br>
If you prefer working in a communal space, that's your
choice. But it really ought to be _your_ choice, not forced
by way of not even having room for a desk where you live.
Personally I can't concentrate in high-stimulus
environments, but I'm set up for working from home and that
works for me. A close friend & coworker of mine likes
to do both, occasionally working at home and occasionally in
a communal space (TechLiminal). The point is the right to
choose, just like with reproductive rights. <br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
=====<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 13-05-21-Tue 5:39 AM, Romy Ilano wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>Aren't apartments in Hong Kong and Tokyo even
smaller, the size of closets?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I don't understand the need for large houses
americans have. Most don't even have time to maintain
them. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I feel like any "profit driven oligarchy" would be
against smaller apartments: </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>- larger homes mean you have to buy more. Even large
apartments.</div>
<div>- small apartments in the city mean probably no car.
You always buy more when you have a car </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Larger apartments mean you have room for a
traditional nuclear family. Single people or people who
hang out in communal spaces need not apply </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>How does this relate to sudo room?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>--/well I and many others could be spending all their
time in their garage or their backyard instead of
sharing & hanging around the sudor (although I feel
like sometimes its harder for people to share skilled
information ;) than beer and burritos)</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>/- these tiny apartments remind me more of the
boarding houses of the turn of the century.</div>
<div> They can definitely be improved but I don't
understand how they are worse than live work lofts ..
Those soma live work lofts enable fabulously wealthy
people to move into poor school districts and worm their
way out of supporting school taxes </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-- you have to be minimal to be in a Tiny space.
Again less materialism </div>
<div>SudoRoom helps me avoid eating out needlessly at
cheesy trendy cafes and I can eat healthier too...
Instead of fast food I can fill the fridge with fruit </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-- no work from home... I don't work at home
personally. I prefer communal spaces as long as I don't
get exploited or harassed. Sudoroom has been pretty fine
so far . </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>---</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<div><br>
On May 20, 2013, at 15:28, Sonja Trauss <<a
moz-do-not-send="true">sonja.trauss@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>The obvious evil - doer is the laws that make it
hard to build new housing in sf.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>There are strong home owners associations
suppressing supply over there and keeping rent
high. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> Does anyone know of an org that tries to counter
that, or are developers the only entities that lobby
on the other side?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Gtwog you amaze me with every post - you're just
finding out now that we're none of us free, huh. <span></span></div>
<div><br>
On Monday, May 20, 2013, GtwoG PublicOhOne wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px
#ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br>
<br>
No-Sex Apartments.<br>
<br>
(Creative commons, with attribution to "G.")<br>
<br>
In cities across the USA, a new "solution" to
affordable housing is<br>
being promoted: micro-apartments of less than 200
square feet. New<br>
York's conrol-freak in chief, Mayor Bloomberg, is
promoting them (New<br>
Yorkers call them "Bloom Boxes"). A developer in
San Francisco is<br>
promoting them. And developers in Seattle WA are
building them by the<br>
hundreds.<br>
<br>
The Seattle apartments were recently covered in a
CBS News article, here:<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57582327/tiny-apartments-are-creating-a-big-backlash-in-seattle/"
target="_blank">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57582327/tiny-apartments-are-creating-a-big-backlash-in-seattle/</a><br>
<br>
If you look at the picture, something immediately
stands out: a TWIN BED.<br>
<br>
As the article says, "...(the) apartment comes
with a small private<br>
bathroom, a microwave and a mini-refrigerator.
There's </blockquote>
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